GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS

FROM THE MORNING CALL

After a long high school football season, I've finally had a chance to take in a bunch of girls basketball games over the last two weeks. Now that I've seen most of the area's top teams, it's time for the first batch of league rankings.

All records through Wednesday.

Colonial League

Oertner 1. Northern Lehigh (11-1 overall, 6-1 Colonial). Junior Aimee Oertner (right) should reach 1,000 career points Friday against Notre Dame-Green Pond.

2. Palmerton (9-2, 6-1). They get the No. 2 spot on the virtue of their win over Northern Lehigh.

3. Southern Lehigh (9-2, 7-0). The Spartans could jump to No. 1 in the next two weeks; they play Palmerton on Tuesday and Northern Lehigh next Friday.

4. Bangor (9-2, 5-2). Their loss to Northwestern remains the most perplexing result of the season.

5. Wilson (7-2, 5-2). The Warriors impressed with their comeback win against Bethlehem Catholic.

6. Notre Dame-Green Pond (6-4, 4-2). The Crusaders miss the outside shooting of Leigh Ann Lively, who is nursing a sprained ankle.

7. Pen Argyl (5-5, 2-4). It's time for the Green Knights to turn around their season after a 1-5 stretch.

8. Saucon Valley (3-7, 2-5). The Panthers gave Palmerton a scare this week but haven't been able to beat the league's better teams.

9. Northwestern (3-8, 2-5). Sophomore Sara Jones has scored in double figures in seven straight games.

10. Salisbury (3-7, 1-5). The Falcons have struggled to score, averaging 32.3 points per game.

11. Catasauqua (0-9, 0-6). The Rough Riders have yet to score 30 points in a game.

12. Palisades (0-10, 0-7). A six-point loss to Notre Dame-East Stroudsburg remains their closest game of the season.

Lehigh Valley Conference

1. Central Catholic (10-1, 5-0). The supposedly rebuilding Vikettes continue to roll along.

2. Nazareth (7-1, 4-0). The Blue Eagles get their first crack at nemesis Northampton on Monday.

3. Northampton (6-2, 2-1). The Konkrete Kids have a huge week next week, facing Northampton and Central Catholic.

4. Parkland (8-2, 3-1). The Trojans keep winning despite an inconsistent offense.

5. Liberty (6-4, 3-2). The East Division looks like it will come down to Liberty and Bethlehem Catholic.

6. Bethlehem Catholic (5-5, 3-2). The up-and-down Golden Hawks took a step back with Monday's loss to Wilson.

7. Allen (4-4, 1-2). The Chicks look like they could go down to the final week of the season as they try to qualify for the District 11 playoffs.

8. Emmaus (4-6, 1-4). The Green Hornets have dropped four straight games.

9. Easton (3-7, 3-2). The Red Rovers remain tied for the East Division lead but have struggled much of the year.

10. Whitehall (1-8, 0-4). Hard to fathom how the Zephyrs scored just 10 points in a loss to Pleasant Valley.

11. Dieruff (1-9, 0-3). The Huskies have dropped nine straight games since beating Salisbury in their season opener.

12. Freedom (0-8, 0-4). The Patriots won't be sneaking into districts this year.

http://blogs.mcall.com/varsity/2011/01/first-batch-of-girls-basketball-league-rankings-at-last.html